Pearl of Great Price — Don Peiper

Inconveniences and hardship are not just to be expected, they are a fundamental part of life. Examining the Nativity, from its humble setting to the family’s flight from Herod, demonstrates this. We have to open our hearts to hurt and our lives to misery if we want to change the world as Jesus did from the start.

We enter the story of Jesus birth late in this season of advent by looking at the character and obedience of his earthy parents Mary and Joseph. They give a beautiful example of the position of humility we are called to embrace as our desire grows to serve Jesus faithfully, our God with us.

In advent we're celebrating the coming of Jesus. As we look together to hear from John the Baptist, about his anticipation of the messiah and the initiation of the Kingdom of God, we are reminded of the imagery the prophet isaiah spoke of as he discussed the path if Gods redemption.

As we approach the birthday of Jesus, remember the small size of the ultimately important gift he brought us. John the Baptist, channeling Isaiah, foretells both the coming of Jesus and the upending of the social order, when the the abhorrent things we think of as normal will finally be ended and justice restored.

The kingdom of God is belongs to those who are spiritually poor, those that society deems destitute and low. This is because pride is incompatible with a life of following God. We must humble ourselves and trust completely in the saving hand of God.

To practice Sabbath is to rethink the work we do. Work is worship, and so is rest.

Generosity frees us from our slavery to greed. We are called to help people, to give up all that we have because in doing so we will receive all that God has for us.

The Redemptive Power of Being There — Wayne Brown

James gives hard truths that are practical for creating a better community. Don’t waste what you have been given, don’t exploit workers, don’t gossip and judge or God will judge you.. Jesus is coming back, but we don’t know when, so invest in this world why we can.

James discusses the proper posture as we begin to shape our plans tomorrow. He calls us to recognize the promise and blessing of today and be careful how we lean forward into the unknown. As we live in God's will for us today, might we dream about tomorrow and the future with hearts that remember the Lord's sovereignty.

The text in James does much to reorient our focus on Jesus. He suggests that conflict, frustrations, and tensions will surface as we concentrate on ourselves instead of setting our desires on Jesus. In our obsession of getting what we want, stresses and conflict find their way into our story and keep us isolated. We will learn much more of these teachings if we embrace them with other believers.

Chris shares from James 3, concerning the immense power of the words we speak, challenging us to go 30 days without negative speech.

Special guest Shauna Niequist shares on the importance of telling and living out our individual stories of God's transformative work in our lives. They may be bittersweet, but because they are also God’s story, it is in these broken moments that God’s redemption most shines through

Chris continues the study of James, about the "wake-up call" to the church. We can’t live without seeing the poverty that exists worldwide and in our own backyards. Like Abraham and Rahab, trust in God and act. Chris shares via video from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Chris speaks on the royal law of love, the infinite obligation to your neighbor. The revolutionary Royal Law of Love is that God sees not taking care of those in need the same as any other sin. The Argentina Mission Year team is sent off.

James gives us another look at practical faith, what Christianity looks like in the lives of believers, in the text of chapter 2. Casting distractions and poor motives out of way by focusing on Jesus, we are reminded beautifully that we are all sons of the living God. When finding ourselves rich in the world we are called to remember our mere mortal status, while the poor are challenged to meditate on the fact that God has lifted them up to royalty. In this middle, flat ground, we walk together humbly, valued and loved, in community, in the kingdom of God.

David Capes preaches on the significance of the Sabbath. Ancient Jewish scholars were legalist about this precisely because they wanted to take seriously the word of God. We worship materialism and thus demand to work without rest. Acting out the necessity of rest actually makes us better workers.

James, as the only book of wisdom literature in the New Testament, offers practical teachings for us to follow based on how we are made. It is easy to speak without listening, or to hear without acting.

James speaks of truly living a life of faith, trusting our Lord in the midst of tough times. It is in these times that God is working on us, refining our character as his called out people. As we walk through seasons of suffering together, may we remember well that God remains near to us.